News of the Western Belize Recreational Area, about 500 square miles of waterfalls, caves, Mayan ruins and pyramids, Belize Alps, foothills, ranches and farms, tourist accomodations of all types and description, tours and expeditions for vacationers and visitors. Even a small growing expatriate retirement group of people from different countries. In Belize, this is where it is happening, all the things that are fun and even serious, with a climate of ETERNAL SPRING.

Friday, March 1, 2013

RAPE OF ROSEWOOD EXOTIC LUMBER SPECIES CONTINUES IN TOLEDO DISTRICT OF BELIZE.

From the Reporter weekly newspaper. Rape of the Rosewood tree resources continues in Toledo District.

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Rosewood plunder continues undeterred, despite Moratorium

Almost a year ago, Minister of Forestry, Lisell Alamilla, signed a
Moratorium banning all harvesting of Rosewood from Belizean jungles,
and, following a sizable find in January, she burned several flitches of
the precious wood.
Alamilla has earned a few choice nicknames since the controversial
burning, but she has stood her ground where the wanton harvesting of the
precious wood is concerned. Yet it appears that the symbolic
destruction was nothing more than just that because in an interview with
reporters, she admitted:
“We continue to find Rosewood. There are regular reports. We’re
confiscating 20, 30 flitches at a time, so the amount of Rosewood that
we have on our hands is increasing almost on a weekly basis and we
definitely have to put something to Cabinet for them to consider, so
that decisions won’t lie with just my Ministry.”
The Forest Department still has two container loads of illegally
harvested wood on its compound awaiting the completion of
investigations.
Wilbur Sabido, Chief Forest Officer, said that in one of the
containers, confiscated in January from the Port compound, were found
Zericote “in round or log form. That is against the law, essentially.
Zericote is a protected species; It can only be exported as a value
-added product. So in that particular instance we seized the wood in the
container. The exporter is a known exporter to us. He goes by the name
of Anita Lou based originally out of Roaring Creek and now operating out
of Orange Walk.”
In the other case, two containers found in the yard at Belize
Engineering Limited contained roughly 15,000 board feet of rosewood.
Sabido said that the exporter “goes by the name of Kambo Kin. Two
persons registered that particular company. I can only recall the name
of one; it’s Pererra.
In this particular instance we have only managed to make contact
through the broker, Mr. Raul Cawich. It’s through him and with the DPP
we are working to see how we can make contact with the actual owner of
the material.”
As for a third load confiscated in Benque Viejo del Carmen, Sabido
said that case is slightly more sophisticated in nature specifically
because “it’s still in customs’ custody and because customs gives a time
period for the owner of the material to present legitimate documents.
If within a particular period of time they cannot present the
documents, then the Controller of Customs can move to seize the
property.
“Also at the same time because we suspect that the material is of
Guatemalan origin, we contacted the Guatemalan authorities and they are
very much concerned about the fact that they have a container with
rosewood of Guatemalan origin ending up in the customs area.”
To add to the scenario, Charles Rivas, a Forest Ranger stationed in
Toledo for a few years, has been transferred to another location pending
the outcome of his alleged involvement in the Rosewood trade.
Minister Alamilla said, “Unfortunately when you deal with public
officers you have to be very careful about how you manage any allegation
brought against them because you just can’t dismiss them like that…so
we have taken him out of the area to ensure that if those allegations
are true, that we have removed him from Toledo.”
The investigation continues to determine whether or not Mr. Rivas was
indeed involved in the illegal trade and if so, what penalties he will
face.